Children on the Edge supporter, Ani Evans, did something special to celebrate her ‘big’ birthday and set up a Birthday Fundraiser on Facebook recently. She set a target of £500 - ‘£10 for every year of my life!’ she said.

Ani not only met her target, she absolutely smashed it, and has raised £741 so far - an amazing achievement. One that will make a huge difference to our work around the world with vulnerable children.

Ani has been a long standing supporter of Children on the Edge, and was involved with us back in 2010 through her work with The Body Shop At Home. She took part in a Playscheme in Moldova where she saw first hand how our donations are used to work with and support some of the worlds most vulnerable children. She said wanted her friends to donate as a way of celebrating her birthday with her, and said that our work “means a lot to her”.

Ani said: “The children I met in Moldova had very little and were at risk of being victims of child trafficking. Children on the Edge built a Centre which was where the Playscheme was run. It was an emotional trip and probably the most rewarding thing I have done in my life so far”.

Children on the Edge supported and protected children living in poverty and without adequate care in Moldova; using our Child Friendly Space model. Our 'Centre', (a converted house), served over 200 vulnerable children from the local rural community. Activities included: after school lessons and homework clubs, computer lessons and free play sessions, including arts, crafts, games and sports. The most vulnerable also received a daily nutritious meal.

In the years since the Centre was established we saw it become the hub of the community. Work with the children at the Centre reduced the crime rate and increased school attendance, helping to halt the cycle of poverty and vulnerability. We assisted our local partners to become an independent Moldovan run organisation, who took over running the centre using independent local funding. Read more about our current projects.

Ani said: "I have been blown away by the support I have had. It’s a long time since I did any fundraising, so I am over the moon that people were on board. The more people who know about Children on the Edge the better."

Our Fundraising Officer, Kerry said: “We want to thank Ani and her friends for their kindness and support, and of course wish Ani a huge Happy Birthday! We’re delighted she chose to remember Children on the Edge as she celebrated a big milestone".

The money Ani raised will help marginalised and forgotten children, who are living on the edge of their societies around the world. These are children without parental care, neglected or persecuted by their governments, ignored by international media and missed by large overseas agencies.

Children on the Edge work in partnership with local communities. We help create safe, child friendly environments and support children to realise their rights. All our work aims to restore the ingredients of a full childhood by generating hope, life, colour and fun.

Around a year ago, we reported how the Kachin communities we work with in the remote displacement camps of Kachin State Myanmar, were beginning to lose hope. Having faced over seven years of being trapped in high altitude camps, cut off from basic services and humanitarian aid, the motivation that carried them through the first season was waning.

Living through what they describe as a ‘slow genocide’, while international attention remains on other crises around the world, 100,000 Kachin civilians endure terrible conditions, and remain ignored. Throughout 2018 these people have faced the threat of continued forced displacement, spontaneous return, land grabbing, and a continuing decrease of humanitarian aid. This has all increased the difficulty of providing for their families, facilitating transportation and facing weather conditions of less than minus ten degrees during winter.

Not only are children aged 3-6 cut off from early learning facilities, but our local partners (KDG) report that most camps have limited opportunities for playing, with terrain being unsuitable to build playgrounds, and little access to play materials. Consequently many older children disappear to the forests and find dangerous places to play.

Warm clothes distribution at Munglai Hkyet ECD Centre

In the past year, the 13 Early Childhood Development Centres we support in the most remote camps on the China border have been supplied with new art materials, musical toys, building blocks, sand pits, tyre swings, story books, and table tennis sets. 431 children received warm clothes and 18 new teachers were recruited, receiving intensive, high-quality training in Laiza. This brings the total number of teachers on the programme to 49.

The stand out feature of this programme however, is the contribution of the community. This ownership, despite the fact their situation has not abated, has continued to increase through 2018. In addition to providing ongoing nutritional support, 258 parents and committee members have attended workshops at each Centre, learning how to make play materials for the inside and outside nursery spaces. This included making ladders, bridges, swings and sand pits of bamboo and wood for the playgrounds. All of this has created 13 colourful, fun environments for the children to have fun and forget about the conflict situation they live in.

Maga Yang parents attend a workshop learning to make outdoor play materials.

All the teachers are trained from within the Kachin community, learning about child psychology, dealing with behaviour, building a child-friendly environment, teaching techniques, child protection and managing logistics. 10 of the more experienced teachers have received further ongoing training on creating safe spaces where children can be free and secure enough to express themselves. They support children to regain a sense of security and self-worth while facilitating their long term recovery and well-being.

Nang Pu Lum has become an active and engaged child through his experience at the Maga Yang ECD Centre.

Nang Pu Lum is just over three years old and attends one of the Centres. Despite being so young, he is the middle child of a family of five, who all live in the Maga Yang Internally Displaced Person’s camp. His family fled their village back in 2011 when the ceasefire between the central government and ethnic Kachin rebels broke down. Maga Yang camp has endured further armed conflict over the last few years, with residents being re-displaced and cut off from humanitarian aid.

Nang Pu Lum’s family has struggled a lot over this time supporting such a large family and having no real means of income in the camps. Teachers described how “He just stayed alone, wasn’t talking much and wasn’t playing much with friends. Sometimes he shouted without realising it and would often just sing alone. He was always separated from others”

The teachers in Maga Yang talked with Nang Pu Lum’s family about how to give him the attention he needs, despite having lots of brother and sisters. With more support at home and extra attention at the Centres, Nang Pul Lum became an active and engaged child by the middle of the school term.

Our partners have reported that there has been a noted increase this year in parents interest in their children’s education and development, and that they listen more to their children’s opinions, leading to improvements in the children’s behaviour, self-esteem and happiness. Marip Ngwa Mi is the mother of one of the children at the Centres and says ““I am so grateful to this ECD Centre because I believe that even though I am not well educated, my child will be educated by attending this Centre. I am also so happy when my child is singing a song and dancing, which she has learned at the Centre. My child always tells me everything she has learned, such as how to wash hands before eating. I am so happy with my child’s development.”

The Body Shop at Home Spring Live! was an epic success; with consultants raising an incredible £65,209 in just a day. More than double the previous record total last September.

​The Body Shop at Home’s Spring Live! event gathered 2,400 like minded entrepreneurial consultants to celebrate 25 years of the business and 25 years of female empowerment.​Along with raffle tickets and t-shirts, our team were armed with over 5000 goody bags, filled with products generously donated by The Body Shop. At an astonishing rate of selling one bag per second, every bag was sold in record time.

Together, this all helped to raise an absolutely whopping £65,209 in just one day. This is more than double the previous record fundraising total from September’s Christmas Conference.

The goody bags were packed in record time last week, with the help of a fantastic group of volunteers in Littlehampton who gave two days of their time to put them all together.

​Our Executive Director, Ben shared good news from our projects in Uganda, with an update about our work in Wandago slum. Last February, Ben showed some clips from a tour we were taken on by children living in Wandago slum. They told us about the well they had to walk to for water, and the fact that many girls had been victims of rape and sexual assault when visiting there alone. Jjust a year later, our Child Protection Team in Wandago is fully established and have spent time working with the community to ensure that no-one travels to the well by themselves. There have been no attacks since.

Ben also celebrated Children on the Edge’s new Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centre in Wandago, which opened last week, thanks to the fundraising efforts of The Body Shop At Home. The children are settling in well to their new colourful classrooms and our three new teachers, Leila, Faith and Prossy (pictured below) are delighted to have welcomed the children into the start of term. We hope the new Centre will replicate the success seen at our ECD Centre in Loco. Keep an eye on our Latest Stories for updates.

This was the first time we had the support from 64 new Children on the Edge Ambassadors (pictured above helping to sell goody bags) from The Body Shop, who helped to sell goody bags and raffle tickets and then launched their 2019 fundraising challenge. They will be sharing updates and ideas on how raise money with their regional teams. We’re excited to see what they can raise throughout the year.

Our Fundraising Manager, Eloise Armstrong said:

‘We are completely blown away by the generosity, passion and commitment to Children on the Edge shown by The Body Shop At Home consultants. The record fundraising total from Spring Conference is more than we could have ever imagined’.

‘The support we receive from The Body Shop At Home is absolutely vital, not only to carry on Anita’s legacy, but more importantly, to create safe spaces for vulnerable children in Uganda and empower other women across the globe to transform their communities’.

As you can see, support from The Body Shop At Home continues to change lives. Thank you to all those who are supporting us to continue this work, especially those who bought a goody bag, t-shirt, raffle tickets, or donated at the weekend and helped us to raise such a phenomenal amount of money.

For 25 years, The Body Shop At Home have supported Children on the Edge raising over £1.3 million and helping create safe places for vulnerable children around the world. The Body Shop and Children on the Edge have worked together since Dame Anita Roddick founded the charity in 1990. In her mission to prove that business could be a force for good, Dame Anita Roddick created a whole new way of thinking about trade and the beauty industry. Find out more. ​​

Over 18 months since the start of the Rohingya refugee crisis, despite the wealth of agencies investing in education for children in Kutupalong, only about 45% of refugee children currently have access to education in the camps.

Navigating the multiple layers of bureaucracy and negotiating building space in the densely populated camp has made provision a huge challenge, and as the crisis has become protracted, the promised formal curriculum for refugee children was postponed by the government for over a year.

Despite these obstacles, Children on the Edge have successfully established 75 Learning Centres which have all been running five days a week since June 2018, providing education for 7,500 children.

150 Bangladesh and Rohingya teachers are fully trained and running classes each day. They have been trained on communication, child rights, health, hygiene, first aid, identifying trauma, classroom management and how to make learning engaging.

Toslina is a Rohingya refugee teacher. She is from Maungdaw, Myanmar where she worked in a shop. Her father was killed by the Burmese Army, so she fled with her mother and two sisters to Bangladesh

This has had a brilliant impact on the children, who have adapted their behaviour quickly to the classroom routine, established good friendships, developed a strong sense of safety and belonging and enjoyed learning letters, numbers and languages through songs, rhymes and dances.​

Toslina (pictured) has been teaching for three months and says “The biggest success has been learning about each child in my class. Knowing their names. Knowing who they are. I care about them very much. For most of the kids, they had never been to school before. Being in our schools helps them to feel safe and calm. They feel like they belong in school now”.

Bamboo fences separate the children from the hustle and bustle of camp life and an array of flowers and vines have been planted to cover the walls. This creates a green barrier, allowing children to separate themselves from the harsh realities outside.​​Somira, aged 8 says “I help my teacher water the plants. Taking care of the plants is one of my favourite things. I like the garden space and I want to add more flowers and maybe some vegetables. We had a big garden in my old house. We had more pumpkins than we could eat”.

The greatest barrier to education here is the government’s policy on language. Printed text must be in Burmese and English, which are not spoken by almost any refugees or local residents. To overcome this, we will be introducing multimedia content. Battery-powered projectors will deliver lessons on academic subjects, health/hygiene, problem-solving, creative thinking and child rights.

​We are currently developing these materials, ready for delivery in March 2019. We are also working on a non linguistic curriculum to teach educational concepts, problem solving, and critical thinking without relying on a written language.

3. We are developing a sense of ownership of the schools by the children

Each building is decorated with the handprints of the students accompanied by their names. Once inside, the Centres are a riot of colour, covered from floor to ceiling with the children’s artwork and decorations.

4.All Centres are equipped with a well-stocked First Aid kit​Teachers receive training that prepares them to identify serious health concerns in students, know when and how to refer them to health professionals and learn how to utilise the materials in the First Aid kits.

This is a copy of the first quarterly child produced newsletter to be produced in Kutupalong camp.

5. We are ensuring children’s voices are heard.

In January 2019, the refugee camps’ first child-produced newsletter was published, containing their artwork, stories, and poems. This generated a great deal of excitement amongst the children, who report they frequently feel anonymous and forgotten amidst the sprawl of the camp. Teacher Sanjil said “Some of the kids in my class have their artwork in the school newsletter. They were very proud of this”.

We are confident that our prior experience in the camp and unique perspective on education with Rohingya children will allow us to set the benchmark for quality education in the refugee camp areas in the coming year. ​

Despite the caste system being outlawed, Dalit children in India are shunned by society and suffer from exclusion, discrimination and exploitation. Through 30 Learning Centres, Children on the Edge are supporting these children to break the cycle of caste discrimination.

An important part of this education is helping children understand their rights. This is not only reflected in the curriculum, but recently through the establishment of eight ‘Children’s Parliaments’, where children learn about their rights and responsibilities, develop leadership, and learn the political system and election process of their country.

125 children were elected from different Centres as ‘Ministers’ and from the Ministers, ‘Cabinet Ministers’ were elected. Project Leader Veena says “Children made their own election manifestos and convinced other children to vote for them. They are very regular for the meetings and everyone wants to be a minister!”.

The Children’s Parliament hold sharing meetings with local-government officials, leaders and prominent personalities. Veena describes how “They boldly interacted with local leaders, asked questions and shared their difficulties. Their self confidence has increased and they are taking a leadership role in the Centres. They are becoming aware of the duties of citizens".

Their growing role as citizens has already been reflected through a campaign to raise awareness about the need to create a cleaner community and improve the health and hygiene in their local area and in the Centres.

​Along with other children and staff members, they swept and cleaned the streets and roads of the village (see photo below), and collected waste, which was transferred to Government Garbage Collection Vehicles. They also participated in the rally, coming up with slogans, and displaying placards related to the benefits of cleanliness and hygiene.

The sign reads 'Mummy and Papa are now determined to get their children immunised for MR (Measles and Rubella).

Avi Karan, Project Officer says “The children exemplified leadership qualities by being the change agents of their communities. The local community appreciated the children’s initiative and pledged to keep their homes, surroundings and public places clean”.

​This week, more than 110 children from the Learning Centres and local communities participated in an ‘Immunisation Drive’, which was a campaign to fight Measles and Rubella. The Ministers from the Children’s Parliament took responsibility for spreading awareness as campaigners. They went to the villagers and spoke about the disease and its complications, and talked about the benefit of MR immunisation.

Avi says “While campaigning in the communities, a lot of children and some parents also got interested and joined the rally. The children went to every corner of the village to make parents aware of the deadly Measles and Rubella viruses and the infections caused to children”.

The Parliaments have had a great impact in a relatively short time. Veena describes how “ I noticed that children learned very fast about election manifestos, campaigns and the process, as well as voting, counting and announcing results. They have learned quickly about the duties of different ministries because they have to practice these duties in their roles.

The children have loved being part of the Parliament, with Veena telling how “Recently our neighbour had a party, and was planning to feed 50 children. Some of those invited were in the Children’s Parliament and they had a training meeting on at the same time. Even though they are poor and had a chance for some food, they chose to come to the meeting instead!”

SpinningTop is a charity based in Wellington, New Zealand, which originally grew out of Children on the Edge UK. While they are no longer called ‘Children on the Edge NZ’, they still adhere to the same vision to ‘help forgotten children living on the edge of their societies across the globe’. In their case, they aim to “give balance to vulnerable children”.

Over the past year, the charity has raised £6,411 for our work with the Rohingya, and are currently looking at how they might be able to partner with us in the future to make even more impact. Until this year they have worked predominantly either side of the Thai/Burma border with a couple of small projects in Shan State and another in Samoa.

After the escalation of the Rohingya refugee crisis in August 2017, they decided they wanted to do something for Rohingya refugee children in Bangladesh. So they approached Children on the Edge about a one-off donation to help with our education work in the camps.

They raised these funds primarily through their well established comedy show, called ‘The Good Guys’. This has been running annually for the past eleven years as part of theNew Zealand International Comedy Festival and features an all-star line-up of comedians who donate a set, with all proceeds going to SpinningTop.

SpinningTop Manager Annie Fischer says she is humbled year after year that such a star-studded line-up agree to be part of their show. “Instead of taking a much-needed break between their own festival shows, these incredibly generous comedians donate their time and talent for this special event.”SpinningTop are the charity of choice for The Body Shop New Zealand - who cover their wages and provide them with an office. Because of this, 100% of the money they fundraise goes directly to the projects they support.

Rachel Bentley, International Director at Children on the Edge says “We’re very pleased to reconnect with SpinningTop since the days of working together on the Thai-Burma border. Both organisations were sparked into being by the same vision from Anita Roddick, to focus on those children who are the most vulnerable, and we’re looking forward to seeing what can be achieved in the future”.

Lebanon hosts over 1.5 million Syrian refugees, many of whom live in informal settlements with little to no infrastructure, as official refugee camps are not permitted. This makes these kinds of crises difficult to address, and UNHCR’s Interagency Coordination group report that 361 informal settlements and 11,301 refugees have been impacted by the storm so far. Unfortunately, the body of an8 year old girl reported missing on Wednesday 10th January was recovered the day after. She had drowned after slipping into a rainwater channel.

For over four years, Children on the Edge have been supporting a small Lebanese organisation called Triumphant Mercy, toprovide education for 500 Syrian refugee children, living in informal settlements the Bekaa Valley. They are also instrumental in providing additional support, care and supplies for the children and families living in these camps.

When the areas they work in were hit by the storms this week, this dedicated local group responded immediately, and Children on the Edge are urgently appealing for donations to assist them in rebuilding shelters.

​Project leader Nuna Matar says, "All the refugees who are living under tents, or who are living in unfinished buildings were really severely hit by this storm...some of the tents are like shacks, so the winter snow is heavy on the roof, and some of them had their roofs collapse on them, so they had to find refuge in neighbouring tents and they had to rebuild, again”.

​Many families have had mattresses, bedding, clothing and food destroyed and some tents are completely underwater. Children on the Edge are currently raising funds to pay for wood and plastic to help with rebuilding.

Nuna and her team are visiting the camps to provide help, but they struggle to get across the mountains from Beirut because of the heavy snow. Another storm is expected next week and they urgently need support to help affected families. 315 sites in the Bekaa area alone are at risk of further flooding and/or the accumulation of snow.

Nuna says, “There’s just not enough food, clothing, and shelter. Getting donor support for Lebanon has been challenging because the Syrian refugee crisis has fallen off the front page.”

* Update 16/01/19*

Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, yesterday we were able to send $1,000 to our partners in Lebanon. Today they have already began distributing warm jumpers and blankets in the storm-hit refugee camp (see photos below).

Project leader Nuna Matar said "I went yesterday to the camps to check how people are coping with Norma storm that hit Lebanon few days ago. And what I have seen is flooded tents, wet belongings and in some cases ruined tents. Another storm is also hitting today so I wanted to do the trip before roads are blocked with ice and snow.

We tried to help as much as possible distributing warm clothes for the children and opening up one of our schools as a shelter. I know we can do more. I received yesterday several calls from neighbouring camps begging us to come and help. We are so grateful that we are able to respond in some small way."

Thank you to everyone who has shared our social media posts and donated.

Less than two months away from the opening date of our new Early Childhood Development Centre in Wandago, Uganda, we look at how we developed a model for best practice and why we’re ready to replicate.

​The model we have created together with Children on the Edge Africain Loco Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centre, has been developed in partnership withMadrasa ECD Programme,who haveover 25 years of experience in developing an approach that makes a real difference in children’s cognitive development and later success in school.

In conjunction with our own 28 years of experience working with vulnerable children and the use of our Child Protection Team model, this approach has produced a successful blueprint of best practice ECD, that is ready to replicate to new and different areas.

​Supporting around 70 children aged 3-6 a year, the Centre is currently being considered for designation as a centre for excellence in the Eastern Region.

'Speech Days' in Loco allow children to celebrate their achievements and inspire the community to get involved.

​The model focusses on:

1. Community ownership

Loco Child Protection Team (CPT) work to identify the most vulnerable households, ensuring their children benefit from education. They encourage local families on the importance of education through a number of events (see photos above), meetings and celebrations, provide small business loans and support parents throughout the term, ensuring high retention rates. ​2. Local culture

​Teachers work to establish which language is most commonly used amongst Centre intake and adapt materials accordingly. They draw upon available local resources through all areas of teaching and learning, and focus on the strengths of local culture and values.

3. Quality child friendly curriculum

We use the Ugandan ECD Framework which was developed in consultation with UNICEF and Madrasa, which is a detailed curriculum of five core areas and an assessment framework to ensure children are learning and developing. Instead of rote learning, a regular day at the Centre will feature songs, dances, craft and games.

4. Health and socialisation

The Centre helps children to deal with routines, develop great friendships and improve behaviour so they can transition well to primary school. Regular health checks pick up concerns including malnutrition, which is addressed by the provision of high calorie porridge and nutritious snacks. Children arrive clean and washed and teachers focus on health and hygiene with songs, rhymes and regular hand washing routines.

Learning is child friendly, creative and focusses on building self esteem.

​It has resulted in improved:

1. Educational progress

We have seen core skills and learning improve significantly, with primary school teachers reporting that where young children previously started at primary school with no reading or writing knowledge and no means of coping within a classroom environment, now they arrive prepared to learn at the right level.

2. Valuing of education

The relationship between the teachers and the Loco CPT has yielded tremendous results in terms of attendance, with regular meetings encouraging parents on the importance of their children’s education.

3. Child Protection

Child Protection Teams have been key in ensuring that child protection cases are followed up, bridging the gap between the Centre and the parents. They follow up on cases identified by the teachers and often make home visits to ensure children are safe. ​4. Health and Socialisation

After a few months of being at the Centre, children were visibly clean and healthy, despite being on the edge of malnutrition when they started.The external evaluation also identified huge progress with the socialisation of the children, with a teacher reporting that “Children’s discipline has changed. The way our children behave is not the way other children in the community who don’t access ECD or who attend other ECD Centres behave”.

Learning about Ugandan culture.

Nutritious snacks at the Centre.

Participating at Sports Day and winning the Trophy!

Having proved how effective it is, this model is now being replicated in neighbouring Wandago community, set to open in February. We are also actively fundraising in 2019 to work with Madrasa and ‘Youth Initiative’ in developing a model ECD Centre for refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the Kyaka II refugee settlements. ​We are hopeful that over time, this model Centre will become a training centre where Congolese teachers from this area can come to learn and develop their teaching skills, and improve the quality of early childhood education for refugee children across the region.

After a double trip to our projects in Bangladesh and India this month, our International Director - Rachel Bentley shares five highlights that reflect some great progress for the children we work with.

​Catering for over 900 children in the slums of Cox’s Bazar, these schools have become model learning environments which have shaped our work an hour down the road in the Kutupalong camp, which leads us nicely to the next highlight…

​2. Colourful classrooms

​“The 150 classrooms we run in Kutupalong camp for Rohingya refugee children are now fully up and running, and extremely vibrant, colourful and creative. Children that have been through such trauma need a safe and happy place to come, where they are free to express themselves. This is certainly evident in these spaces that are filled top to toe with their artwork. After what they have witnessed and what they are going through, these children lack the confidence of their counterparts in Cox’s Bazar, but we know that this model works to bring about a sense of safety and well-being as time goes by and the teachers are well trained to make learning fun and to address trauma.”

​3. Oasis areas in the camp

​"Not only are the classrooms colourful on the inside, but the shrubs and flowers that were planted when we began building in May are now growing and blooming. The idea is that we create an oasis feel in the barren, cramped landscapes of the camp. There isn’t much room to do this, but we’ve used the space we have to help the children feel they are entering a whole new environment, that is just for them”.

​4.Schools on a shoestring

​“In India what struck me was how much we are in the right place, supporting Navjeevan in their work. They’re currently providing 20 schools on a shoe string in some of the most awful slums I’ve seen. These areas are worse than Kutupalong, yet they get no media attention or support. Despite the continual oppression Dalit children live under, they are clean, happy and confident at the Centres and learning well, this is an incredible achievement when you see where they live each day”.

5.Computer classes

​“Our partners here in India, thanks to the generous support of our donors, have begun IT classes for children and young people in the slums. These have been incredibly popular and are already resulting in young people being able to get jobs they would never have been able to without developing these skills”.

Our fantastic corporate partners Make It Cheaper held a Halloween-themed Bake Off in October to raise money for Children on the Edge. To add to the sugar fuelled excitement they were lucky to have Manon, a quarter finalist in 2018’s Great British Bake Off, along to judge the competition. Manon also baked a five-tier chocolate cake to auction to raise even more cash.There were some fantastic entries, with the five best-looking cakes shortlisted for tasting in order to determine the winner. The crown of Make It Cheaper’s Best Baker eventually went to Kelly – a cake Manon said she could eat all day! The Bake Off raised £400 for Children on the Edge and significantly added to the waistlines of all the staff as well.

Manon was delighted to help support the Bake Off saying:"I didn't think twice when I was asked to join and donate one of my cakes to help Children on the Edge! I didn't do that much, but I hope with this extra money raised, it will make a little difference to some children in need and give them a brighter future!"

Make it Cheaper have supported Children on the Edge since 2017 and are always looking for new and exciting ways to get our staff involved with fundraising. Having held bake sales, karaoke nights, raffles and even completed a Tough Mudder, they have raised more than £38,000 in the past 18 months.

Dan O’Sullivan from Make it Cheaper helps cheer on and organise their fundraising and shared how “The chance to support a charity that does such vital work with vulnerable children across the world is one that we relish – especially with two members of staff having visited Uganda to witness first-hand the impact of COTE’s projects”.